The Shape of Water, Blade Runner 2049, Logan and Coco took top film honors tonight at the 22nd annual ADG Awards. Blade Runner 2049 and The Shape of Water will face off for the Production Design Oscar March 3. Logan was not nominated.

For the first time, the Art Directors Guild included animated feature in its film categories. Coco added to its early awards season wins, taking home the inaugural trophy.

Celebrating excellence in production design during 2017, the Johnathan Fernandez-hosted awards were presented in 11 categories.

Fox Searchlight

The Shape of Water continued its seemingly unstoppable march toward Oscars. The film, nominated for a leading 13 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Guillermo del Toro, is coming off Golden Globe, AFI, Broadcast Film Critics, and PGA wins, among others.

There was plenty of interest in the Fantasy Film category this year as it pitted the three top-grossing films of 2017 domestically — Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Woman — against War for the Planet of the Apes and Blade Runner 2049.

Only 14 of the 21 previous top ADG Award winners — spanning all three top film categories — have gone on to claim the Oscar. Last year’s top ADG winners were Hidden Figures (Period), Passengers (Fantasy)and La La Land (Contemporary), which later claimed the Academy Award.

HBO

On the TV side, Game Of Thrones won for One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series, The Handmaid’s Tale’s Julie Berghoff took the trophy for One-Hour Single Camera Series, beating itself. The praised Hulu drama series was nominated twice in the category. Other TV winners were Will & Grace, GLOW, Black Mirror and Portlandia.

In accepting the Cinematic Imagery Award, eight-time Oscar nominee and Lucasfilm head Kennedy spoke of the importance of imagery. “Movies ask the audience to believe in something, whether its dinosaurs, Indiana Jones, Abraham Lincoln or Life of Pi,” she said. “The ability to create something we can only speculate about through our imagination…That is the profound impact of cinematic imagery. The images we remember, they stay with us for a lifetime.”

See the complete list of winners and how the night went down below.
Fantasy Feature Film

“We just finished 8 years of this wonderful program. I’m really emotional. When it came to being asked if I needed more money for our sets, I’d say no. I’d say, ‘I need money for more crew.’ It was a family, and it was just so wonderful. You guys are a family to me.” — Schuyler Telleen

“I never liked to design the last set on a film, or the final flourishes of any project, really; the beginning is always more exciting than the conclusion. Wrapping up my last issue of Perspective this past September was the least [easy] of all. It seems that just a few weeks ago that I came into this industry, fresh out of college. At that point, I wasn’t even a storyteller—but I always liked to make things.” — Michael Baugh

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with some really great set designers for many years. At the age of 75, I was able to use all my design experience to design 7 films for Clint Eastwood, and I retired three years ago. Thank you very much.” — Murakami

“I’ve been able to illustrate planes and trains and spaceships and learned about things people never thought about before, like dinosaurs and vikings. I’m indebted to all the designers who taught me just about everything I needed to know. It was an education.”

“We’re making great strides. We’re creating a harassment-free environment where creativity can flourish. So get involved in the guild. Let’s strive for a more perfect union and leave things better than we found them.”

“As we all know, it starts on the page, and I will always be grateful to our writers. And after a 10-year hiatus, how wonderful it is to return to the show that was my first production design job. I am so fortunate to have these amazing creative people and storytellers—we all have our gifts, and this is my gift.” — Glenda Rovello and team

“For over 20 years I was honored to have John as my lead scenic artist. In addition to John’s artistic talent, we also recognize him for his ability to teach others, and his expectations of excellence that resulted in the next generation of classically-trained scenic artists. We pay tribute to your continuing legacy of scenic excellence.”

“I love listening to Rick talk, especially when it’s about me. The reel you just saw of my movie life represents not only some of my production design, but also some of my art direction and set decoration. Rick advises me to say I did it all. The important thing is, I was always made to think I was totally involved. I prided in wrangling us all in the right direction. We called ourselves designers and storytellers, but our cinematic form of storytelling isn’t a solitary effort. A uniquely cinemagic trick is required to uniformly inspire our audience with a cohesive image that beguiles us. There is no one who pulls off a cinematic trick off better than production designers, and the art department.”

“I’ll just say, I’m happy to be a member of the Art Directors Guild. It’s so much more than a kid from Australia could ever ask for. That being said, standing here by myself feels kind of ridiculous, never mind embarrassing,” Riley said, giving credit to her entire art department

“Our next award recipient has made a really significant impact on our professional lives. I was immediately impressed by Loeb’s commitment to diversity and the success of women, including in the upper strata of leadership. People have to earn the respect they get from others, and he earns his daily.”

Loeb: “This is about taking care of people. This is about having rights. This is what we’re here, and every single human being deserves that, in this country [and others]. Every single person. We’re going to have to work hard to create an environment of equity. We have to remain active, or we might elect an idiot, or a misogynist. We deserve better…”

“We’re going to fight for fairness and we’re going to exhibit leadership and we’re going to bring powerful people together. But folks, we have to understand that equality in the workplace and a safe work environment is primary. That has to happen. That’s about women who have been fighting this for far too long and about men who have to stand up. We have to make a cultural difference and a generational difference.”

Carter: “Long before she took over the mantle of Star Wars to try to bring forth the force again, I was aware that she was a person that had the force—a force of vision. I’m so happy we’re honoring her as a producer who creates, underneath everything we do, a vision.”

“It’s the vision of a producer who allows all of us to do what we do. It’s fundamental to what we do, and I’m so honored to be able to present this award. This is so the tip of the ice berg, compared to what she’s done,” Carter says, introducing her reel.

Kennedy: “First I want to say, what Matt Loeb just said, it sort of pales in comparison to what I’m about to talk about, even though I’m going to talk about the importance of imagery. I was really moved by what you said, Matt. I also want to say that the first job I ever had, I was a camera operator, so I too was in a union and I completely understand the importance of it. I have to say that I was a bit daunted when I started writing down my thoughts about receiving this award. I could only think about the amazing work so many people in this room represent and how fortunate I’ve been to work with so many of you.”

“All of them, along with their incredible teams, have contributed so much to what we mean when we define cinematic imagery. The devotion to craft often defines great films. Cinematic imagery always had to begin with great storytelling, but great storytelling can be inspired by imagery. What defines it as ‘cinematic’ is elusive. It’s often defined by scale but it’s always motivated by storytelling”

“Movies ask the audience to believe in something, whether its dinosaurs, Indiana Jones, Abraham Lincoln or Life of Pi. The ability to create something we can only speculate about through our imagination…That is the profound impact of cinematic imagery. The images we remember, they stay with us for a lifetime. My participation in that journey of discovery has been what I loved the most about what I do. It’s finding those images that root the story in emotion, wonder and awe. It may be something as simple as the match in Lawrence of Arabia, the land ablaze in Days of Heaven, the smell of napalm in the morning in Apocalypse Now. Each of these magnificent films are defined by imagery.”

“It’s that swept-away feeling you get when you become lost in a world or a time in history, or a place you think you recognize that captivates and transports. The invention of these images is the product of artists, visually tuned to inspire and innovate, to help us see what we wish for. That is cinema, and that is why we love movies. This, I suppose, is the fear of losing the cinematic experience. Those challenges should inspire us. That is the motor by which we also move the craft of cinema into the future. So to quote Doc Brown in Back to the Future, ‘The future is what you make it.'”

“Ron Clements and John Musker, the most successful of animation directing duos, have given us timeless classics within the whole of the film and entertainment industry. These stories tell of people who yearn for more in their lives—a young woman in New Orleans dreams of having her own business. They’ve given us princesses who are empowered, including Tiana, the first African American Disney princess”

Musker: “We were trained by Disney’s nine old men. One of those nine men was our mentor—he was in charge of the training program at Disney when we started in the ’70s. He said, ‘the only thing that limits us in animation is our imagination.'”

“It’s a thrill just to be in this room tonight—so many of my heroes are here. Thank you for recognizing animation with this new award. It means so much to be included in this amazing night. Coco has been a labor of love.” — Harley Jessup

“Coco is all about honoring those who inspired us, but are no longer with us. When Lee Unkrich first pitched the idea for Coco, Steve Jobs was still here on this earth. I want to dedicate this award to him”

“Thank you to the Art Directors Guild for recognizing us in the contemporary category. Our goal from the beginning was to make a film that connected with our times. I wouldn’t be here tonight if it wasn’t for James Mangold’s vision for Mangold. He wrote such an incredible screenplay and challenged us to thank differently. We’d also like to thank Hugh Jackman, whose passion and dedication were an inspiration to us all.” — François Audouy

“When I met Denis Villeneuve in the dead of winter in Montreal, I knew this would be a very hard film. We decided to send a dream of brutality back to Ridley’s first film. It was an extraordinary journey.” — Dennis Gassner